Tractor operated by internal-combustion engine.



E. WRIGHT.

TRACTOR OPERATED BY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 3h I914.

Patented June 1, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Y avwemto'c E. WRIGHT.

TRACTOR OPERATED BY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 31- 1914.

Patented June 1, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' E. WRIGHT. TRACTOR OPERATED BY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 31. 1914.

Patented June 1,

Raw @Hmvfll:l|\.i, W H11: mi N NN QR N \N. AN QM I ,"....H. zhw l kw \N 1X m con (10 E. WRIGHT.

TRACTOR OPERATED BY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN- 31, I914- 1 1%1M Patented June 1, 1915.

E) SHEETS-SHEET 4.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 31. 1914. I

Patented June 1, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

YVIIucmco IEDW t I WRIGHT, or nnooxnrn, new Yank.

TUTOR OPERATED BY INTERNfiL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Application filed January 31, 1914. mrial No. $15,638.

To all whom it may concern it kIlOWYl that I, EDWARD WRIGHT, a subject of the King of Great Britam, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and ing mechanism is arranged so that the steering may be accomplished by power derived from the engine and whereby the drivlng shaft for the steering mechanism may conveniently be used as a means for starting the engine. I also provide improved means for applying the load gradually to the engine; for insuring the application of the brake to the load when the engine is disengaged, and for preventing the operator from attempting to reverse the direction of movement of the roller without applying the brake.

The invention also comprises means for operating the brake independently of the re versing mechanism, when desired, so that the movement of the roller may be checked while the engine is drawing the same, or this independent braking means may be used in conjunction with the braking means controlled by the reverse lever, to give an increased braking effect when the engine is disengaged.

The invention also comprises certain features of construction, the details of which will be clear from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 isa side elevation of a road roller embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a front view of one of the brake levers and adjacent parts; Fig. 4 is a section through the clutch mechanism on the line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line of the shaft which drives the worm shaft of the steering mechanism; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 1, the steering sector being omitted; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the lower water tank, which forms a base for the engine and some of the adjacent parts; Fig. 8 is a central longitudinal section through the same, showing also in side elevation a portion of the tank above the roller and the pipe connections to the tanks; and, Fig. 9 is an end elevation, on a reduced scale, g thze lower tank, taken at the right of Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, 1 and 2 indicate side bars of the roller frame which, as shown, are suspended from the shaft 3 of a driving roller 1, and extend forwardly from points at the rear of said shaft parallel with one another, thence curving upwardly at 1 and 2* and converging toward their forward ends, where they are connected together by a block 5, in which is provided a bearing for the stem 6 of a yoke 7 in which is mounted a steering roller 8. Between the side bars 1 and 2 is secured a heavy tank 9, which serves as a bedplate to support an internal combustion engine E and other parts. This tank carries water for cooling the engine, and because of its large superficial area it serves also as a radiator to cool the water. In front of the driving roller 4:, in suitable bearings 10 which are mounted upon the hollow bed-plate or tank 9, is arranged a driving shaft 11, which is connected by sprocket wheels 12, on said shaft, and driving chains 13 to sprocket wheels 14 upon the shaft 3, the shafts 11 and 3 being thus secured together so that the latter may be driven by the former. Two bevel gears 15 and 16 are loosely mounted upon the shaft 11, and both of these gears are in constant mesh with a bevel pinion 17 upon the engine shaft 18. When the engine is in operation, it will be evident that the gears 15 and 16 will turn in opposite directions. Upon a squared portion of the shaft 11, between the gears 15 and 16, is arranged a double cone clutch member 19, the conical surfaces 19 of'which are adapted to engage complementary friction surfaces 15 and 16 on the inner faces of the gears 15 and 16, respectively, when the double cone member 19 is moved in one direction or the other from its central or neutral position between the gears. Only a slight movement is required to carry the member 19 from engagement with the clutch surface on one gear past the neutral position and into engagement with the clutch surface on the other gear. It will be evident that as the gears constantly rotate in opposite directions, the shaft 11 will be driven in one direction when the cone 19 engages the gear 15, and in the opposite direction whenthe cone is in engagement with the ear 16, and as the shaft 11 is geared to the rivin roller 4, the machine as a whole will move orward or backward according to which of the gears on the shaft 11 is engaged by the cone. If the cone is in the mid position, the gears will turn idly without driving the shaft 11 or the roller.

The roller is operated by an internal combustion engine, and for well known reasons, it is necessary to avoid throwing the load too suddenly on such an engine. A road roller, in practical operation, must be frequently reversed in its direction of move ment, and a sudden reversal would result in over-loading the engine, causing it to stop, or causing injury to the gears and working parts. I therefore, have provided means whereby, when the machine is moving in one direction, a brake will be applied to the rollerbefore the power can be applied to operate it in the opposite direction, and I also provide means whereby the application of power to the roller in starting it from a state of rest will be gradual. As shown, a

verticallyarranged clutch lever 20 has its lower end pivoted in a supporting block 21, and this clutch lever is in the form of a yoke, the arms of which extend around the hub of the cone 19, a part 20* of the clutch lever engaging an annular recess 19 in said hub. The upper end of the clutch lever has a recess 20 in which is mounted a nut 22 having internal screw threads, said nut having trunnions 22 which fit into recesses 22 in the lever, these recesses being at right angles to the recess 20. The nut is thus pivoted on the trunnions in the upper part of the clutch lever. A shaft 24 extends transversely of the machine and is provided with a worm 25 which engages the threads in the nut. On one end of this shaft is mounted a inion 26, which is engaged bya rack bar 2 which latter is pivotally connected to a manually controlled reversing lever 28, which is pivotally mounted at 29 on the side bar 1 of the frame. The rack bar is held in engagement with the pinion 26 by a guide roller 30. The arrangement is such that when the reverse lever 28 is in the vertical position shown in Fig. l, the double cone clutch member 19 will be midway between the gears 15 and 16, and not in engagement with either; but if the reverse lever is thrown forward, the rack bar will cause the worm shaft 24 to turn and the worm thereon engaging the swivel nut will move the double-cone 19 to the right (Fig. 4) into engagement with the gear 15, thereby causing the road roller to move in one direction,forward, for instance. If the reverse lever is moved rearwardly from the vertical or mid-position, the rack bar will cause the shaft 24 to turn in such direction as to move the cone 19 from the mid-position into engagement with the gear 16, and the roller will therefore move in the opposite direction.

One purpose of my invention is to prevent the operator from reversing the clutch mechanism, while the roller is in motion, without first checking the speed of the roller or bringing it to a complete stop, and a further purpose is to insure the application of the load to the engine in a gradual manner, whether upon reversal of the roller or in starting from a state of rest. For these purposes I provide upon the shaft 24, two eccentrics 31 and 31, and brake rods 32 and 32 are provided with eccentric straps 33 and 33 which surround the eccentrics 31 and 31, respectively. These rods extend forwardly from the shaft 24 and are pivotally connected to brake levers 34 and 34*. The brake levers and brakes, on opposite sides of the machine, are substantially alike. As shown in Fig. 1, the lever 34 has its lower end pivoted to a stud 35, upon which is secured one end of a brake strap 36, which strap passes around a brake pulley 37 on the shaft 11. The opposite end of the strap is secured to a short bar or red 38 which is movable through an opening in the brake lever. Adjusting lock nuts 40 are arranged upon the end of this rod, and a spring 41 is interposed between the lock nuts and the lever. The lever 34 has a slot 34* which is engaged by a stud or pin 32" upon the eccentric rod 32. A rod 42, pivoted at one end to the lever 34, extends forwardly and has its opposite end pivotally connected to a foot lever 43 arranged adjacent the engineers footboard 44.

When the reversing lever 28 is moved from its extreme forward position to its extreme rearward position, the rack bar 27 causes the pinion 26 to make one complete revolution; or, otherwise stated, when the reverse lever is moved from its central or neutral position, either forward or backward, the rack bar will cause the pinion 26 to make one-half revolution. In the neutral position of the reverse lever, the eccentric 31 holds the eccentric rod 32 in the position shown in Fig. 1, in which the pin 32 exerts pressure against the brake lever at the forward end of the slot 34 and the brake lever, compressing the spring 41, causes the brake band to firmly grip the brake wheel. If, now, the reverse lever is moved either to its forward position or to its rearward position, the pinion 26 and shaft 24 will be turned a half revolution, which will cause the eccentric to move the the eccentric rod rearward and the brake lever 34 will follow, permitting the brake band to loosen, unless the brake lever is held in the braking position, shown in Fig. 1, by pressure exerted on the foot lever 43, or by a catch applied to the latter lever.

l,tttt it It will be that by reason of the slot and pin connection between the eccentric red and the brake lever, the rod will always form the lever to braking position when the reverse lever is brought to its central position, but when the reverse lever is rneved in 1 direction from the central position the eccentric rod does not pull the brake lever to release the brake, but the lat ter follows, (unless restrained by the foot lever) by reason of the energy stored in the spring 41 and the brake band itself. It will also be seen that when the eccentric rod is in position to release the brake, in the forward or rearward position of the reverse lever, the brake may nevertheless be readily applied by pressure applied to the foot lever 43, which will cause the brake lever to swing forward without interference with the eccentric rod because of the lost motion connections between the latter rod and the brake lever.

In the operation of the roller, the engine runs constantly, operating the gears on the shaft 11, and if the reverse lever is in the mid-position, the brake is set and the coneclut'ch is midway between the clutch surfaces on the gears 15 and 16. If the reverse lever is moved forward, the eccentrics on the shaft 24 are turned to release the brake, and the worm on the shaft 24 moves the cone gradually into engagement with one of the gears on the counter shaft 11. The roller will then move forward. If, now, the engineer should bring the reverse lever to mid-position, the brake will be applied in the manner stated and the clutch will be dis-engaged, permitting the engine to run free. If, while the roller is moving forward the engineer should attempt to suddenly reverse its movement by moving the reverse lever from its extreme forward position to its extreme rearward position, it will be evident that while the lever is passing through the neutral position and while the clutch is disengaged from the driving gears, the brake will be applied and the movement of the roller will be stopped, omits momentum checked, before the clutch mechanism again connects the engine to its load. In moving the reverse lever to or through its neutral position, the engineer must exert some force in order to overcome the resistance of the brake, and this exertion naturally tends to prevent a quick movement of the lever. To further guard against this quick movement of the lever, balancing springs 45 and 45 are connected between the free end of the clutch lever 20 and the adjacent parts of the frame, as shown in Fig. 4. These springs tend to hold the clutch lever in its mid or neutral position, and in this position they exert equal and opposite tensions upon the lever.

When the lever is moved to carry the cone 19 into engagement with one of the driving gears, the tension onone of the balanci-ng springs willbe progressively increased. Hence, as the movement of the clutch lever is accomplished by the reverse lever 28, it will be evident that in moving the reverse lever through and past the neutral position, in addition to first overcoming the resistance of the brake, the engineer must. also overcome the progressively increasing re sistance of one of the balancing springs. The force required to move the reverse lever from one extreme position, through the neutral position, to the other extreme position,- naturally causes the engineer to make this movement slowly and deliberately, instead of quickly. As a means of further guarding against a quick engagement of the clutch members and over-loading of the engi'ne, it will be noted that the reverse lever has a comparatively long movement, in order to effect the very slight movement of the clutch lever required to carry the clutch cone from the neutral position to either engaging position, and the gradually increasing tension of the balancing springs, causing the operators hand movement to slow down, results in a very gradual engagement of the clutch. An important function of the balancing springs is to assist in the disengagement of the clutch cone when the reverse lever is moved from the forward or backward position to the mid-position.

The steering mechanism of the roller comprises a shaft 46, mounted in the standards 47 which support the seat 48, this shaft being provided with a worm 49, which engages the teeth of a sector 50 attached to the steering post or stem 6. The shaft 46is also provided With a sprocket Wheel 51, which is connected by a chain 52 to a sprocket Wheel 53, which is loosely mounted on a countershaft 54. The sprocket wheel 53 is arranged between collars 55 and 56, fixed to the shaft 54, and a pin 57, threaded into an opening or f L perforation in the sprocket wheel, is adapted to enter a perforation or recess 58 in the collar 55, for the purpose of locking the sprocket wheel to the collar and thereby to the shaft 54. By unscrewing the pin, the

shaft may turn loosely within the sprocket wheel, and by tightening the pin the sprocket wheel and shaft will be locked together so as to turn as before mentioned.

This shaft 54 serves as a starting shaft for the engine as well as a counter shaft for operating the worm shaft 46, which turns the steering roller. The shaft 54 is movable longitudinally in its bearings 59 by means of a clutch lever 60, pivoted at 61, and having a forked end 60 which fits between collars (S2, fixed to the shaft 54. Upon the shaft 54, two bevel gears 63 and 64are secured at opposite sides of the engine shaft 18, and upon the forward end of said shaft &

is secured a pinion 65, adapted to be engaged by one or the other of the aforesaid gears when the shaft 54 is shifted either way from the central position shown. in Figs. 5 and 6.

It will be evident that when the steering lever is moved in one direction from its central position, the gear 63 will engage the pinion 65, and, if the engine is in operation and the gear 53 is locked to the shaft 54, motion will be imparted to the worm shaft 46 and the steering yoke will be turned in one direction about its axis until the steering lever is brought to the mid-position to disengage the gear thereon from the pinion on the engine shaft. Obviously, a reverse movement of the steering lever would cause the other bevelgear on the shaft 54 to engage the pinion and thereby effect an opposite turning movement of the steering yoke and roller.

As the internal combustion engine which operates the roller requires a starting means in order to set it in operation, one function of the shaft 54 is to provide this starting means. One end 54 of the shaft 54 projects beyond the side 1 of the main frame and is suitably formed for engagement with a hand crank, by which it may be turned manually. In order to start the engine, the sprocket wheel 53 is unlocked from the shaft 54 by unscrewing the pin 57, thereby leaving the shaft 54 free to turn independently of the worm shaft 46. The shaft 54 is then shifted longitudinally, so as to carry one of the gears 63 or 64 into engagement with the pinion 65 on the engine shaft, and when the gears are in engagement, the engine may be cranked or spun by the application of manual power applied to the crank on the end of said shaft. After the engine has been started the shaft 54 may be moved to disengage the gears, and the locking pin 57 is then turned to connect the sprocket 53 with the collar 55, thus making a rigid driving connection between the shafts 54 and 46 for steering purposes. It would be impossible, of course, to crank the engine with the two shafts geared together. The arrangement by whichone of the sprocket wheels may be made fast or loose conveniently upon one of the shafts avoids the necessity which would otherwise arise of taking off the sprocket chain to start the engine.

The tank 9, secured to the side bars 1 and 2, as previously stated, is suitably formed to serve as a bed plate for the engine and as a support for the driving shaft 11 which rests in the bearings 10 on parallel hollow trunks 9 (Fig. 7) forming parts of the tank, the engine being arranged upon similar trunks 9. This hollow bed plate is adapted to contain water for cooling the engine cylinders, and as the trunk has a large superficial area exposed to the atmosphere,

it forms an effective heat radiator. Above the driving roller is another water tank 66 (Figs. 1 and 8), the bottom 66 of which conforms to the curvature of the roller, while the top 66 is fiat and serves as a suitable support for the fuel tanks 67. A pipe 68 is shown connecting the lower part of the upper'tank 66 with the lower part of the lower tank 9. Another pipe 69 connects the tank 9 with the water jacket of the engine, usual on engines of this character, and a pipe 70 extends from said jacket to the upper part of the tank 66. The upper tank also has a large radiating surface. The pipes and tanks thus form a circulatin system, through which the water will ow when sufliciently heated by the engine, the course of the water being from the water acket of the engine to the upper tank, thence to the lower tank, thence returning to the water jacket of the engine, the water being cooled in its passage through the tanks. If desired, a pump might be placed in the circulating system, and with this forced circulation, one or both tanks might be used; but I prefer to use the two tanks, in the manner described, depending upon the heat of the engine for causing the water to circulate.

What I claim is:

1. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the tragtion wheel or roller thereof, two clutch gears journaled on said shaft and driven in opposite directions by the engine, a clutch member slidably mounted on said shaft, a brake for stopping the tractor, a reversing lever and connections therefrom to said clutch member and brake, adapted in the intermediate position of the lever to hold the clutch member out of engagement with the clutch gears and apply the brake, and when the lever is moved to either of its extreme positions to release the brake and engage the clutch member with one or the other of said clutch gears.

52. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction wheel or roller of the tractor, a brake for'stopping the tractor, reversing mechanism for connecting the engine to the driving shaft for operation in either direction, means operatively connected with said mechanism for setting the brake when said mechanism is brought to the neutral position from either engaging position, and means for operating said brake independently of the reversing mechanism when said mechanism is in its engaging positions.

3. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction wheel or roller of the tractor, two clutch gears jonrnaled on said shaft and driven in opposite directions by the engine,

an intermediate clutch member and a clutch lever for operating the same, a shaft having means thereon for shifting the clutch lever, and having also an eccentric thereon, a brake operable by the eccentric, and manually controlled means for. turning said latter shaft.

4:. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction Wheel or roller of the tractor, two clutch gears journaled on said shaft and driven in opposite directions by the engine, an intermediate clutch member and a clutch lever for operatin the same, a shaft having means thereon for shifting the clutch lever, a pinion and an eccentric on said latter shaft, a rack-bar engaging said pinion, manually controlled means for moving the rack-bar, and a brake for the driving shaft movable by said eccentric.

5. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction wheel or roller of the tractor, two clutch gears journaled on said shaft and driven in opposite directions by the engine,

an intermediate clutch member and a clutch lever for operating the same, a shaft having means thereon for shifting the clutch lever, a pinion on said latter shaft, a rack-bar engaging said pinion, and manually controlled means for moving said rack-bar.

6. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction wheel or roller of the tractor, two clutch gears journaled on said shaft and driven .in opposite directions by the engine, an intermediate clutch member and a clutch lever for operating the same, a nut swiveled in said lever, a shaft having a worm engaging said nut, and manually controlled means for turning said latter shaft.

7 In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction wheel or roller, clutch members for connecting said shaft with the engine for rotation in either direction, a clutch lever for moving one of said members, a shaft having means thereon for operating the clutch lever, an eccentric on said latter shaft, a rod movable by said eccentric, a

vbrake-lever movable by said rod, and a tion in either direction, a clutch lever for moving one of said members, a shaft having means thereon for operating the clutch lever, an eccentric on said latter shaft, a rod movable by said eccentric, a brake for stopping the tractor, a brake-lever having a lost motion connection with said rod and movable by said rod to set the brake, a spring for releasing the brake, and a manually movable means, independent of said eccentric and rod, for moving said brake lever to set the brake.

9. In a tractor, an internal combustion engine, a driving shaft geared to the traction wheel or roller, clutch members for connecting said shaft with the engine for rotation in either direction, a clutch lever for moving one of said members, a shaft having means thereon for operating the clutch lever, centering springs connected to said lever for moving the lever to neutral position, manually controlled means for turning the. latter shaft, and means operated by said latter shaft for setting the brake, in the neutral position of the clutch lever.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

I EDWAR WRIGHT. Witnesses:

Josiernc N. Srmn, Snmm Window.

Ill 

